


Closure

by savvyliterate



Category: Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: F/M, Spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-09-29
Updated: 2012-09-29
Packaged: 2017-11-15 07:20:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,172
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/524648
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/savvyliterate/pseuds/savvyliterate
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>With every loss, there must be closure. Then they can heal. Spoilers for "The Angels take Manhattan"</p>
            </blockquote>





	Closure

It was a cycle. A never-ending cycle, because even as Amelia and Rory were ending, they were also beginning. His heart was heavy, but not quite as much as it had been minutes earlier, before he'd remembered the last page of the book. The Doctor softly closed the door behind him and stared at the stairs. He wasn't alone. Every other time, he'd closed this door on a loss -- Rose, Martha, Donna, oh so many -- and he'd been alone. So, so, alone. A pang of guilt throbbed between his hearts. Twin pangs. Because he'd forgotten the daughter. And the father.

He found River in their bedroom, and his hearts ached worse at the sight of her. She'd taken her hair down, and her knees were drawn into her chest. Her forehead rested against her knees, and her shoulders were shaking. Tears. Tears, she wouldn't show around him, because she was trying to be strong. He thought of her breaking her wrist and hiding that pain as well. It was that guilt, that love, that drove him across the room to sit on the bed next to her. He wrapped an arm around her shoulders, allowing himself to cry just a bit more as she turned into him and sobbed into his shoulder.

She drew back, eyes red-rimmed and furiously swiping at her nose. He offered her his handkerchief, and she wiped her face. "I'm sorry."

"They're your parents. You love them every bit as much as I do," he said quietly. He brushed a kiss across her forehead. “You’re always hiding so much from me.”

She cupped his cheek. “Because I swore to myself, a long, long time ago, that I wouldn’t let you see. It mattered. Of course it matters. But, you’re hurting too.”

“Marriage doesn’t mean that one of us has to hurt more than the other,” he said quietly and pressed his forehead to hers and thought Amy would be rather pleased with that one. He picked up the wrist she had broken and he healed. He kissed the pulse that beat steadily under the skin.

"I'm sorry," she whispered. "I'm not sorry I slapped you, because you were being foolish. But, I'm sorry if you thought ..."

"It doesn't matter." He moved in, brushing his lips across hers. He tasted the salt from her tears and the time that clung to her always. The kiss deepened and several minutes passed as they murmured to each other in a language so old and sacred that the TARDIS wouldn't translate it. Then he stood, held his hand out to her. "You were right. She left me a message. The very end of the book. She wants me to go back to Leadworth, speak to her in the garden. But, I just realized, given our timelines … come along, River."

\-----

_Leadworth, 1996_

She wasn't sure how long she could stay out there. She was tired and cold and hungry, and she'd wasted two precious minutes to rush in and use the loo because she couldn't hold it any longer. Amelia brushed her hands over her eyes and hugged herself. Maybe it was all a lie. Something she daydreamed, like her Aunt Sharon … no, her mum and dad … no … oh, it was all such a mix-up in her mind. 

Then she heard it, and she jumped. That groaning and wheezing that meant he was back. Oh, he'd come back for her after all! Amelia leaped to her feet, whirling around just as that blue box faded into view.

Then the door opened. And a woman stepped out.

She was pretty. She wore a black dress had the most curls that Amelia had ever seen. Her hair brushed her shoulders, and her eyes were kind, warm, and familiar. But, she wasn't him, and Amelia glared at her. "You're not the Raggedy Man."

"No, I'm not," the woman replied with a smile.

"Well, I've want nothing to do with you, so you can just go back in there and tell him to come out. I've been waiting five and a half hours, and Rory's going to come sniffing about soon. I don't want him to come."

"Not even just a little bit?" the woman asked.

"Well …" Amelia shuffled a bit. "Just a little bit. I want Mels to come though. Mels is my best friend. She lives in a home, and she's always got these weird injuries. She doesn't remember them though, so she doesn't talk about them. I think she'd have fun. But, you might want to make sure she doesn't accidentally nick anything."

"We'll keep a careful eye on that." The woman knelt in front of her. 

"Do you know the Raggedy Man?"

"Oh, yes. Very well. I'm his wife."

"He's married?" Amelia tilted her head. "Does he eat fish fingers and custard for you too, Mrs. Raggedy Man?"

"Oh, yes. All the time. Gets the crumbs in the sheets. Always like to eat in bed, no matter how many times I tell him not to. The Raggedy Man … he's a bit busy right now. But until he's ready, he wanted me to tell you a story. It's the most wonderful story I've ever heard." The woman wrapped an arm around her and started to weave a magical tale about a girl who waited and the Roman centurion who waited as well. 2,000 years, across time and space. Pirates and star whales and Daleks and giving hope to the greatest painter who ever lived.

And eventually, all the lovely images running through Amelia's head caused her to close her eyes. Just for a second. Her mind dancing among the stars, she fell asleep, tucked into the woman's side.

Knowing what was to happen next, River eased her arm away, gently helping Amelia to curl up on her suitcase. A tear rolling down her cheek, she kissed her forehead. "I love you, Mother," she whispered.

River wiped away the tear as she closed the door behind her. "Thank you," she said, her voice hollow. 

The Doctor didn't say anything, merely kissing her cheek before he turned to the monitor. "One more," he said quietly. "This one I have to do. Will you go with me?"

River studied the location, the date and the time on the monitor. "Yes," she said, without question.

\-----

_London, 2020_

Brian didn't bat an eye as he ran the hose over the flowers in Amy and Rory's garden. He turned when he heard the TARDIS, his eyes lighting up. "Not gone long this time," he said as the door opened. "Just a couple weeks this time, and …" his voice trailed off as the Doctor stepped out and a blonde-haired woman stepped out with him. He dropped the hose, eyes filled with accusations. "Where are they?"

"Brian,” the Doctor said.

“No. Tell it to me straight.” Brian drew himself to his full height and pinned the Doctor with the same unflinching gaze that his son had. “You owe me that much.”

The Doctor swallowed and hung his head. “I’m sorry,” he said thickly, and didn’t bother to wipe away the tears. He swallowed, then gestured to the woman. "This is Professor River Song." He dragged in a breath. "But, she was born as Melody Pond. Williams. This is Amy and Rory's daughter."

Brian eyed River. "But, I thought they couldn't …"

River smiled sadly. "Just consider me a miracle … Granddad."

He didn't say anything for a long moment. He closed his eyes, then wiped them. "Then, the package on the counter makes sense. The letter. It was just delivered by that Kate Stewart from UNIT. They'd been keeping it safe for years, she said. Since 1938. Wasn't to be open until this date in 2020 and in the presence of the Doctor and myself. What happened?"

“It was an accident,” River said just as the Doctor started to speak. “It was a horrible accident, and my parents were sent back in time. I’m guessing …” She closed her eyes, did the math. “New York City. Late 1880s. 1887-1888. The creature that sent them back prevents them from being brought back to the present. They’re fine. They lived long lives, and they were together. He didn’t let them die, Granddad. Just like he promised you. They chose to leave, to be happy.”

“And they had you,” Brian said.

River nodded. “They had me.”

“And you travel with him?”

Her hand found the Doctor’s, and he squeezed it. “We’re married,” he said.

Brian stared from the Doctor to River and back again, then shook his head. “Well, someone needs to keep him in line. All right. You two deal with the package while I go pack.”

“Granddad?”

“You two are time travelers! Well, you can just take me to be with Amy and Rory.” Brian didn’t look back as he headed for the garden gate. He paused, hand on the gate as he turned back to the Doctor and River. “Those two are all I’ve got. My only son and his wife. There’s nothing for me here. I’ve seen the world, and I’ve seen some of the stars. I can be a lonely old man waiting for two people who will never come back, or I can go spend the rest of my life with them. Go on now. I’ll be back.”

“We can’t let him do this,” the Doctor said as River walked into the house.

“Why not? He’s right.” River spotted the package and started to open it. “Dad’s mum died when he was a kid, and his stepmother was horrible to both of them. Tell me, Doctor, is it going to affect their timelines to have Brian spend the rest of his life with Mother and Dad?”

“No.” But it felt all the same that he was forcing Brian into something that he didn’t want.

The twine gave free, revealing a packet of papers. “Then, let him do this.” She kissed his cheek and peeked in a folder. With a laugh, she flourished a train ticket from Philadelphia to New York City, dated for June 1889. “It looks like it’s already happened, so we might as well give him a ride.”

\-----

_Philadelphia, 1889_

“Right. I’m going to a city I’ve never been before about 130 years ago.” Dressed in period clothing, Brian surveyed the train station. “Can’t get any closer, huh?”

“No. We can’t get near New York. The Doctor bounced us back to ancient Greece before I stopped the TARDIS.” River shot the Doctor a fulminating look, and he gave her a mock salute. “Do you have everything, Granddad?”

“Believe so. The money you gave me and a note to Amy about where to find more. An address to send that book you need to write to. This knapsack with a package for Amy.” Brian tapped the bag slung over his back. “A letter from you, and that’s it.” Brian held out his hand. “Take care of my granddaughter. Thank you for letting me spend the last couple of weeks with her while we were taking care of selling the house and fighting those ... what was it, Zygons? In Ancient Greece. I hope to be there when she’s born.”

The Doctor and River glanced at each other and looked away. Neither had the heart to tell Brian the truth. If so, then it would be up to Amy and Rory to tell him when he found them. The Doctor slapped Brian on the back, and River kissed his cheek. Together, hands clasped, they waved Brian off on the train.

As it disappeared around the bend, they walked slowly back to the TARDIS. “What was in the package?” The Doctor asked as they reached the door.

River smiled cryptically. “21st century bras, knickers and several jumbo-sized boxes of tampons. Not period appropriate, but if I was stranded in the 1800s, I’d certainly want comfortable underwear.”

“Especially with the number of times I found them under your outfits.” The Doctor tugged her into the TARDIS and promptly pinned her against the door once it was shut. “Care to show me how period inappropriate you’re being right now, Professor?”

She beamed. Her smile stretched from ear to ear, and for the first time since losing her parents, had no pain. “I have the urge, my love, to go to our bedroom and discuss atoms.”

“A word coming from the Greek that means indivisible.” His fingers started to work her corset open. “Even though they can and do divide, they’re the best when they come together and make something whole. Something new.” His fingers tugged the laces loose and skimmed up her rib cage. “Made up of charged particles.”

“Are we discussing the Rutherford model? Oh, that’s positively kinky,” River purred and divested the Doctor of his jacket. He kissed her neck, and she hitched a leg around his waist as his hands slid up her thighs.

It would be a long time before they were fully healed. But they had each other, and they were going to love and take care of each other.


End file.
